In August 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) amended the Requirements for Participation for LTC facilities to require the electronic submission of staffing data according to specifications established by CMS. The data submitted, through the PBJ, shall be the number of hours direct care staff are paid to work each day, auditable back to other verifiable information. PBJ data are intended to eventually replace data submitted on the CMS–671 Form. However, facilities are required to continue to submit the CMS-671 Form during their annual survey, until instructed otherwise.

More information can be found on the CMS website: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/NursingHomeQualityInits/Staffing-Data-Submission-PBJ.html. CMS will begin posting Payroll-Based Journal public use files which will be accessible at https://data.cms.gov/ on November 1, 2017.